Eads: Chevalier, Vaughan reunited in Hall

It didn't take long for Ed Chevalier to get a read on a future coaching legend.

It was the championship game of a Santa Barbara JV boys' basketball tournament that Chevalier's Thousand Oaks team took the court against Buena and its young coach Joe Vaughan.

&quot;We were two young scrubs coaching in a tournament final,&quot; said Chevalier. &quot;You could tell right then that Joe was going to be a good coach.&quot;

Thirty-two years after that tournament final, both coaches were inducted into the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Vaughan and Chevalier were presented at halftime of the Cajon-Ayala girls' and Mater Dei-Dominguez boys' section championship games last Saturday.

&quot;To think that we would be on the same page for the SCIBCA Hall of Fame is quite an honor,&quot; said Chevalier.

Vaughan is the winningest girls' basketball coach in state history with 761 wins. His teams captured 27 Channel League titles, six section championships and two state crowns.

&quot;It felt good to get in with (former Hart coach) Dave Munroe,&quot; said Vaughan. &quot;I coached against him for many years.&quot;

Vaughan retired after the 2006-07 school year. Buena dedicated its gym in his honor last spring.

Chevalier was a longtime county boys' coach with 427 career wins at Thousand Oaks and Oak Park. Under his leadership, Oak Park raised its level of success, reaching section semifinals in Chevalier's last three seasons. Chevalier's Oak Park team reached the Division III-A title game in 2005, losing to Harvard-Westlake by five points.

Judgment call: Ventura was the odd team out Sunday when the CIF selection committee made its at-large picks for the Division I Southern California Regional girls' basketball tournament.

By looking at the section champions, who were the automatic qualifiers, and the runners-up, it likely came down to three semifinalists &#8212; Ventura (27-3), Lynwood (23-7) and San Clemente (25-5).

Ventura and Lynwood were I-AA semifinalists, while San Clemente lost in the I-A semifinals to Redondo, the No. 1 seed in the Division II playoffs.

Greater weight was supposed to be given to schools that played in the higher divisions.

That is why Ventura coach Ann Larson finds it difficult to accept why San Clemente was picked over her team.

&quot;This is a slap to our county,&quot; said Larson. &quot;It worries me what kind of respect that our county has in the grand scheme of things.&quot;

Not only did Ventura have one of the best defensive teams in the state (21 opponents were held to 33 points or less), the Cougars ranked No. 12 in the state and had played six teams that were ranked in the state.

&quot;We so much deserve to be playing,&quot; said Larson.

&quot;This causes me concern for the future. Sometime down the road another county team could be in the same boat. Will they get the same treatment?&quot;

Steppingstones: This week's Southern California soccer regional tournament is the latest move by the CIF to create another layer to sports seasons.

The push on the state and section levels has seen pilot programs for state football championships and regional tournaments in water polo, swimming, soccer and girls' wrestling in the last three years.

At this week's CIF-Southern Section Executive Council meeting, there is a proposal on board to give birth to a boys' volleyball regional tournament.

Baseball and softball may not be too far behind.

The success of these events over an extended period could give CIF officials serious thought about having true state championships.

Public vs. Private: One of the biggest issues addressing the CIF-Southern Section will land in the lap of the Executive Council on Thursday.

Although it's a non-action item (the vote will likely take place in April), a Century League proposal to separate public and private schools in the postseason is sure to stir considerable discussion.

Private schools have a clear advantage with unlimited attendance boundaries and deep pockets to pay substantially higher salaries for coaches and trainers, argues the Century League proposal.

The proposal would impact the next two-year cycle of playoff groupings scheduled to be introduced for the 2008-09 school year. Those would have to be redrawn by this summer.

Whether or not the measure passes, the issue has its foot in the door of CIF athletics.

Sure to be discussed as schools gather for the next four-year releaguing process next January will be the break up of private and public schools from the same leagues.

The talk of the 2008 Northern Area releaguing agenda will, more than likely, address what to do with the Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure football programs, which have been dominating Ventura County over this decade.